How sad are we?
And how sad have we been?
We'll let you know
We'll let you know
Oh, but only if, you're really interested

You wonder how
We've stayed alive 'till now
We'll let you know
We'll let you know
But only if, you're really interested

We're all smiles
Then, honest, I swear, it's the turnstiles
That make us hostile
Oh

We will descend
On anyone unable to defend
Themselves
Oh

And the songs we sing
They're not supposed to mean a thing
La, la, la, la

Oh
You're lonely
Oh, you're lonely
Oh
Get off the roof!
Oh

Your arsenal!

We may seem cold, or
We may even be
The most depressing people you've ever known
At heart, what's left, we sadly know
That we are the last truly British people you'll ever know
We are the last truly British people you will ever know
You'll never never want to know

9 Comments

General CommentIts actually both critical and sympathetic. Moz is on their side of being patriotic and defending that right but disagrees with their mentality of violence brought on my a game of football.
It's another song where Morrissey has been accussed of racist sentiment mainly for the line 'The last truly British people' but at the end of the day he's being ironic.
It's amazing how the English love to say 'The Americans don't understand irony' when most of us don't seem to understand it ourselves!
The shout of 'Your Arsenal!' is only in the live version if the song as is the GET OFF THE ROOF bit.

General CommentIt's a critique of the mentality of the football hooligan.

He's being very sarcastic in this song. Repeating the excuses football hooligans always give in the media. A lot of football hooligans have connections to the right wing and sing anti Irish songs. Hence the line "And the songs we sing
They're not supposed to mean a thing". Just by the way he sings it Morrissey is making it clear that these songs aren't just a bit of fun. Being Irish himself, he'd be more sensitive to the type of hate conveyed in some football songs.

General CommentMoz played this live at V Festival this year... As it was one of the songs he was previously cruxified for (NME on heir 'racist' witch hunt) it did make me wonder if either he (a) wanted to fan the flames again or (b) he likes this one, and thought it was ok to sing it now... It is about football hooligans, the racist chants they sing, and the fact that for the bulk of the world (particularly Europe at the time it was writen) the only 'English' people they ever read about, or heard about were these hooligans - The last truely British people you will ever know...

General CommentOkay, can someone explain to me what or who he's referring to talk to. I feel guilty whenever I hear this song because, it makes me feel like he wants me to mind my own business. It says his songs are not supposed to mean a thing. I wonder what he means by that, because his songs I've always found meaningful. What does he mean by "We are the last truly British people you'll ever know"? Is that some sort of political statement, or personal? Well this song is a great song.

MemoryI don't know that he's a "massive" football fan, but you can tell he's a bit obsessed about hooliganism which was at its height in the 80s. He's always wearing a West Ham shirt at live concerts, but he says he supports Manchester United.

BTW, "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles", the song from Oi! band Cockney Rejects, has been played countless times on his "pre-concert" tape mixes. That song is the main chant of West Ham supporters who are famous for being one of the most violent in the country.

My InterpretationEverybody says this song is about soccer (football). I always thought this song was about British colonialism, and how it ultimately led to an influx of foreign-born immigrants back "home" in England. Consider the following line. "We will descend on anyone unable to defend themselves." I thought this was about Europeans using guns to conquer and subdue indigenous populations who did not have access to the same kind of technology. There is another line... "the songs we sing; they're not supposed to mean a thing." I thought this was about the cultural void that exists in European societies, who lack sacred songs and a strong oral tradition. There are other lines too. "The turnstiles make us hostile," means British people are angry about immigrants being processed at their boarders, and "we are the last truly British people" means white (Anglo-Saxon) people in Britain are becoming a thing of the past. Shows how much I know, huh?